{"id":288864,"date":"2025-11-29T01:04:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T01:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/288864\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T01:04:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T01:04:05","slug":"taylor-swift-faces-off-with-denise-welch-as-old-tensions-erupt-in-christmas-no1-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/288864\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Swift faces off with Denise Welch as old tensions erupt in Christmas No1 race"},"content":{"rendered":"

The race for this year’s Christmas No1 has taken an unexpected turn, with Taylor Swift and Denise Welch now in direct competition for the festive crown.<\/p>\n

The US pop superstar and Loose Women panellist are both vying for the coveted top spot, adding a fresh twist to their already complicated connection.<\/p>\n

Ms Swift, 35, who released her twelfth studio album The Life Of A Showgirl in October, has two tracks in contention: Opalite and Elizabeth Taylor. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Welch, 67, has entered the race with her festive single Slayyy Bells.<\/p>\n

\"Taylor<\/p>\n

Taylor Swift and Matty Healy dated publicly for about a month in May to June 2023<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

British Vogue<\/p>\n

Their chart battle is particularly notable because of their shared history through Matty Healy, frontman of The 1975 and Welch\u2019s son, who briefly dated Swift in 2023.<\/p>\n

During the short-lived romance, Ms Welch publicly supported the pairing and even posed for selfies with Swift. However, her tone shifted after the relationship ended.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Andy Cohen\u2019s podcast this summer, Ms Welch admitted: \u201cNot being her mother-in-law is a role that I’m glad that I lost.\u201d <\/p>\n

She also expressed frustration about the aftermath, saying: \u201cNot that I have anything against her at all. It was just, you know, it was tricky. <\/p>\n

\"Denise<\/p>\n

Denise Welch is a contender for the 2025 Christmas number one with her hyperpop single “Slayyy Bells”, which was released in collaboration with Celebrations chocolates<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, listen, you’re not allowed to say anything, but then she writes a whole album about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Swift\u2019s 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department was widely interpreted as chronicling the 2023 romance, with tracks such as Guilty as Sin? and The Black Dog believed to contain references to Mr Healy.<\/p>\n

Despite past tensions, both women are now firmly focused on the festive charts. <\/p>\n

The Official Charts Company has flagged Opalite and Elizabeth Taylor as possible contenders, although neither track has yet reached number one.<\/p>\n

\"Taylor<\/p>\n

Taylor Swift’s song “The Fate of Ophelia” is currently a top contender but bookmakers list Wham!’s “Last Christmas” as the favourite<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

Ms Welch\u2019s offering Slayyy Bells has been dubbed the hyperpop Christmas banger of 2025, featuring playful lines like \u201cwe\u2019re serving looks, not turkey\u201d and \u201cit\u2019s time to put the slay in sleighbells\u201d.<\/p>\n

Writing on Instagram, Ms Welch told fans: \u201cMy message to you is, however you spend your holidays, have lots and lots of fun, hun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Novelty tracks have a strong history at Christmas, with LadBaby\u2019s sausage-roll anthem We Built This City among past winners.<\/p>\n

The Christmas number one race extends well beyond Swift and Welch, with Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo, 38, and Ariana Grande, 32, emerging as major contenders. <\/p>\n

Their duet For Good from the upcoming sequel soundtrack is expected to perform strongly.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, McFly\u2019s Tom Fletcher has penned a new version of One Of Us for Paddington The Musical, which bookmakers are already tipping as a favourite.<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s characters have claimed the top spot before \u2014 Mr Blobby in 1993 and Bob the Builder in 2000 with Can We Fix It?.<\/p>\n

Other hopefuls this year include Raye\u2019s Where Is My Husband!, Labrinth\u2019s John Lewis soundtrack Where Love Lives, and festive releases from Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Pixie Lott.<\/p>\n

\"Taylor<\/p>\n

Taylor Swift and Denise Welch pictured backstage at Matty Healey’s The 1975’s show<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

INSTAGRAM<\/p>\n

Charity singles are also entering the race, including Lullaby by Together For Palestine and Home Care\u2019s Got Talent\u2019s rendition of Robbie Williams\u2019 Angels.<\/p>\n

Classic favourites could still surge late in the race, Wham!\u2019s Last Christmas finally took the crown last year, while Mariah Carey\u2019s All I Want For Christmas Is You and The Pogues\u2019 Fairytale Of New York remain seasonal staples.<\/p>\n

The competition officially begins on December 12th, 2025, with sales and streams counted until 11.59pm on Thursday, December 18.<\/p>\n

The winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 1\u2019s The Official Chart at 4pm on December 19, 2025.<\/p>\n

Martin Talbot of the Official Charts Company said this year\u2019s contenders represent \u201cthe most diverse field in years\u201d, adding: \u201cOn your marks, get set, go!\u201d<\/p>\n

In contrast to the tensions between Ms Swift and her almost\u2013mother-in-law, Ms Welch, the singer\u2019s interactions with her fianc\u00e9 Travis Kelce\u2019s mother, Donna Kelce, have been notably warm, with the pair frequently pictured together at NFL games.<\/p>\n

However, a minor online debate occurred in September 2025 after Ms Kelce accidentally reposted a comedian’s video on Instagram that joked about Ms Swift’s \u201caching uterus\u201d and desire to \u201cbreed\u201d with Travis. <\/p>\n

While many users defended it as an accidental mistake by someone unfamiliar with a new Instagram feature, some Ms Swift fans felt the topic was too personal to be publicly shared by a potential future mother-in-law. <\/p>\n

Other fan discussions have revolved around comments Ms Kelce and her sons made on their podcast about putting \u201cpressure\u201d on Travis to have children, which some fans found insensitive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The race for this year’s Christmas No1 has taken an unexpected turn, with Taylor Swift and Denise Welch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,830,96,128,391,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-288864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-celebrity","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-tv","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}